Because most of the benefits to transit (including intercity rail) accrue to drivers and people who breathe, lowering fares in order to increase ridership is often a good idea.

They are now running trains every hour between Berlin and Cologne (about 300 miles apart). We should be running hourly trains between Chicago and Detroit, St. Louis, Cleveland, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Cincinnati. Hourly!

If you want to get wonked out, check out the Update and also see their website for several other articles that did not make it into the publication.